THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
127 
Tree Planting Machine 
A iiuicliine which plants from 10 to 15 tlioiisand for¬ 
est tree seedlings a day, is in use at the Letchworth Park 
Forest and Arboretum, in Wyoming County, N. Y. It 
was designed to set out cabbage and tomato plants, but 
works equally well with trees. It is about the size of 
an ordinary mowing machine and is operated by three 
men and two horses. One man drives the team while 
the other two handle the seedlings. The machine makes 
a furrow in which the trees are set at any desired dis¬ 
tance. and an automatic device indicates where they 
should be dropped. Two metal-tired wheels push and 
roll the dirt lirmly down around the roots. This is a 
very desirable feature, because the trees are apt to die if 
this is not well done. Two attachments make it possible 
to place water and fertilizer at the roots of each seedling. 
Another attachment marks the line on which the next row 
of trees is to be planted. 
No cost figures are available yet, but officials say that 
the cost will be much less than when the planting is 
done by hand. It is stated that the machine can be used 
on any land which has been cleared and is not too rough 
te plow" and harrow. 
THE PINE BARK BEETLE 
An insect less than a quarter of an inch long that may 
cause the death of large pine trees, is described in Cor¬ 
nell bulletin 383 recently issued by the college of agricul¬ 
ture. It has been found attacking white and pitch pines 
and is known to w ork also in spruce and larch, and to be 
widely distributed in many of the northern states. 
The lana is a small white grub and, like the beetle, 
works in the cambium of the tree just inside the bark, 
making galleries and chambers in the wmod. In the liv¬ 
ing tree the presence of the beetle may be indicated by 
“pitch tidies” through which the beetle pushes out the 
saw^dust that results from its gallery making. The tree 
tries to close this exit w"ith pitch w ith the result that the 
so called pitch tubes become prominent spots on the tree 
trunk. 
The beetle may attack living trees but usually confines 
itself to dying or recently dead trees, and its attacks may 
open the way for fungus diseases and for other insects. 
A wet season is hard on the beetles and also aids fungi 
wdiich prey on them; hlack carpenter ants may also de¬ 
stroy the beetles. In the case of felled logs removal of 
the bark w ill caiisi' the death of all larvae of the beetles 
and burning the hark will kill the adults. 
This bulletin is said to be of intmi'st only to entomo¬ 
logists and forestei's and is not issued for general distri- 
Imtion. Beipicsts fiom research workers will be filled 
as long as the limited edition lasts. Address the New 
York state college of agriculture, Ithaca, New York. 
